My 10 year old daughter has selective mutism and developmental delays that has been our challenge as a family. Once, she was held back a grade. Her school has been having difficulties testing her too, because she doesn’t read out loud for testing purposes. She can read and spell, but you can tell that at times she struggles with comprehension and speed. I have encouraged her to play with various reading/word games online, but this program by ASD Reading is the one that I have noticed she has actually tried to be consistent with the most.

In fact, it has gone to the point where she is now the one reminding to remind her to work on it to my utmost delight: “I need to do my ASD, Daddy.” I can tell that she likes the program, and independently is ensuring that she does it first before playing with her other online games or watching her videos. At one point, I asked if she was having a hard time and needed help, but her response was “It’s easy,” and smiled. I don’t interfere at all once the program has started, which is what the creators have recommended the parents to do. My only actual contribution to the whole process is to get her logged in and to click on the appropriate links when she needs to get started.

Here are just some screenshots of the tasks/activities that you can expect from within the program.

Above is a combination of word bank, fill in the blanks, and an animated graphic image to reinforce learning.

These are just still screenshots, but every image and letter is animated, so the program is very interactive and will grab attention.

One of the features I like about the online ASD Reading program is that it won’t allow your child to do more sessions during the week than what is recommended by their current research. If you attempt to do more sessions that what their research suggests, you’ll just get a warning message with the rationale of why you can’t proceed further. Another advantage is that I think it is individualized. Your child will go through different levels, each with varying tasks, as they progress throughout the year. The program starts with just very basic tasks so that it can determine where your child is at and then go from there. Each level builds and complements on the other to increase the potential of learning. In essense, you’ll get the following combination of learning:

She’s been using the program for more than 20 days at least, and she hasn’t given up on it. I hope we can see marked improvement on her with continued use of the ASD Reading program. I am looking forward to that. The program expires within a year, which should be a good amount of time for improvement.

Because it is online-based, you can access it outside of the home because it’s not a software on your local desktop computer. You can go anywhere, and as long as you have an internet connection, your child can work on the ASD Reading Program. If you travel, you can use your laptop, or any mobile device such as an iPad:

The ASD Reading program is a research-based program designed by Dr. Marion Blank, a world-renowned developmental psychologist who served as Director of A Light on Literacy at Columbia University. It’s an online-based program, so you will need to have an internet connection at home and subscribed to the service. You can find out more about the program by going to: http://www.ASDReading.com